Barcelona star leads Europe's top 5 leagues in assists for 2024
- Spanish sensation Lamine Yamal has continued his unprecedented run of form at the ripe age of 17, topping the European leaderboard for assists across all competitions in 2024.
- Leapfrogging established stars like Kevin De Bruyne and Kylian Mbappe, Yamal is embarking on one of the most memorable seasons in football history, turning heads with each appearance for both club and country.
By Rohan Borges
Lamine Yamal leads Europe with the most assists in 2024
The 17-year-old has been at this for months now. He lit up the global stage with five goal contributions in seven matches, leading Spain to the Euro 2024 title and alerting the entire football world of his generational potential. He enjoyed his summer vacation as any teenager should, recharging his batteries in preparation for the La Liga season. If fans were expecting any sort of dropoff from the teenager after such an enthralling summer they were sorely mistaken, as Yamal only raised his level, notching four goals and an assist through his first four matches for Barcelona.
Carrying his hot form into the first international break, Yamal added another assist to his early tally, contributing to Spain's 4-1 victory over Switzerland in the Nations League clash. In 16 senior appearances for his national team, Yamal has already racked up 12 goal contributions, demonstrating a level of efficiency reminiscent of a young Lionel Messi when he burst onto the scene for Argentina in 2005.
Keeping the ball on a tether as he dribbles through the teeth of defenses, there's seemingly no solution for the Spaniard at times. Yamal practically does whatever he wants in open space, consistently gaining enough separation to deliver balls into the 18-yard box on a silver platter for his teammates to put away.
Lamine Yamal has more assists for club and country across 2024 than Kevin De Bruyne 🤯🅰️ pic.twitter.com/CDuZLMtbpv
— OneFootball (@OneFootball) September 9, 2024
His finishing ability will improve as his body continues to develop, but it's not too much of a reach to suggest that Lamine is already amongst the top 3 playmakers in football. Of course, midfield maestros like Kevin de Bruyne and Luka Modric must be mentioned in these discussions, but the raw stats speak on Yamal's behalf, while the eye test only enhances his case.
There isn't another winger in Europe currently playing with a better combination of skill, control, and spontaneity than the 17-year-old Barcelona star. There's no monotonous pattern to his movements in one-on-one scenarios — Lamine dribbles to the beat of his own drum, making him even more difficult to contain.
Yamal has registered 13 goal contributions in his last 14 matches for club and country, displaying zero signs of slowing down any time soon. The star-boy continues to set records and surpass milestones at a breakneck pace to begin his young career, raising the bar for himself every time he steps foot on the pitch.